"This year, just to give a comparison, the soil moisture content in East Gippsland was 1 per cent in the first one metre of soil, compared to 10 per cent last year," he said.

"We're looking at heavy fuels being available to burn almost immediately, which means as lightning bands and other causes of fire move across the landscape, we could find ourselves in a really difficult situation."

East Gippsland, north-east Victoria and the state's north-west have been identified as the regions most at risk.